3.6 Authority to Introduce a Bill approval

After a Bill is prepared and settled within OQPC and approved by the sponsoring department and Minister, it is ready to be submitted to Cabinet for approval for introduction.

In the Cabinet submission for Authority to Introduce a Bill, further authority must be sought if the existing Authority to Prepare a Bill approval does not fully cover the final draft of the proposed legislation. For example, further authority will be needed if a draft takes a different turn from that originally envisaged in the drafting instructions as a result of encountering a problem with the original concept or dealing with an additional issue.

Generally, each Authority to Introduce a Bill submission is circulated to OQPC. If appropriate, OQPC prepares, for possible referral of its views to the Premier, a briefing note, usually about any inconsistency with fundamental legislative principles. The briefing note is forwarded to the Policy Division of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and also to the instructing officer.

After Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Bill, OQPC should not be given further instructions to change the approved Bill. However, The Queensland Cabinet Handbook does permit the making of minor amendments to the Bill without Cabinet approval if they relate to minor technical or stylistic matters that do not change the intent or context of the Bill as approved by Cabinet.